Diabulimia?

Hi, I'm a type 1 diabetic and over the past year I have lose 2 stone! This was a great achievement for me as I had been wanting to lose weight for a wile, but because I inject 4 times a day it was 10 times as hard. I went from having like 8 units of nova rapid insulin for dinner time ect.. to now only having 3,also my Glargine (back ground insulin) went from 30 units to 12. I'm fitter & healthier now but I want to maybe lose a little more ready for prom in the summer, but my main focus at the moment is maintaining the weight. I don't exercise as intensely as I did when I was losing weight but I still exercise 5 times a week, plus if I eat fruit with like high sugar it makes my bloods increase and then I know this sounds silly, but I wont take any more that 4 units in the week, sometimes I do need more but I don't because I know that insulin is some kind of fat sorer. I looked online and on Wikipedia a page came up saying 'Diabulimia' I read the description and it quoted "Diabulimia refers to an eating disorder in which people with Type 1 Diabetes deliberately give themselves less insulin than they need for the purpose of weight loss. Now I did lose my weight the right way, it's just maintaining it now, and I will hold my hands up and say sometimes I do need a little more insulin to bring my bloods back down to a suitable level, but I don't. My bloods aren't ridiculously high like 25.5 for example but they are around 12.0-16.0 most of the time, but my bloods are all over the place due to hormones and stuff. I just don't know what to do "/

Replies to This Discussion

I have to tell you. You are very brave and insightful to have come here. Society places such huge pressure on us to look good and be thin. And when we have diabetes this pressure can just be overwhelming, even the doctors are yelling at us to lose weight.

But we must never lose sight of what it takes to be healthy as a diabetic. The most important thing you can do to stay healthy is to control your blood sugar. And it is true that withholding insulin and running a high blood sugar causes you to lose weight, but at a terrible price. Your body literally eats itself up, consuming muscles and organs along the way. You may think that a blood sugar of 12-16 mmol/l is ok, but for most of us, those levels are too high and we would correct them.

But the real concern is that diabetes is as much a mental disease as anything. And we are under daily pressure to make decisions and actions and we can become obsessive about things and can start to have real trouble. And while withholding insulin and running high (Diabulimia), seems like an easy way to lose weight it is really harmful. And Diabulimia is very serious, your mind gets into a rut and it becomes very hard to make rational decisions. And it is a very slippery slope. It is an addiction and it really messes with your thinking. There are others here who have dealt with these issues, and I hope they can also respond. And I do very much hope that we can help you meet your goals and not fall victim to Diabulimia. We can offer suggestions on how to lose weight in a healthy manner, but you also need to deal with your feelings on this weight thing and bring them into proper perspective. You are a beautiful, healthy and strong young woman. We want you to stay that way.

I think it is interesting that you lost the weight the right way, yeah you!!! now you are thinking and i am not sure if i am reading your right, but it seems you are thinking if i run high i can keep it off? i hope this isnt your line of reasoning because in the long run you are damaging your body by doing this. i would suggest trying to keep things low carb keep up with exercise treat yourself once or twice a week for sure but try to keep your numbers in line the best you can. most importantly lead a healthy life, you have accomplished so much and have all the tools you need to keep moving foward successfully. some days, weeks will be a struggle but you've got this. treat your diabetes, but live your life. you are already beautiful! amy

Hi Meg, Maintaining weight is done by your researching exactly what your body needs, when given adequate insulin, to put your blood sugar in your target zone of 5.6 to 6.7. I don't know your weight, so I can't personalize this well.
Congratulations on losing 28 lbs/2 stone!
First, write down your weight in the morning. Second, work with each food you usually eat. Take only 7 grams of one food. Figure out what number of fast acting insulin units will bring your blood glucose for that 7 grams down to 5.6. Write down your I:C ratio for that food. Take the next food type. Be diligent figuring out exactly what I:C ratio you need for what food.
Third, work out and count the number of total carbohydrate grams you took when you stayed the same weight. This is day by day. And it means you eat about the same amount of protein each day and the same amount of fat each day so that doesn't tip the scale!
Fourth, carry around a small pocket booklet on which to write it down. this is researching yourself.
I found out, by this kind of trial - it takes time - that I need 72 grams of carbohydrate per day, due to my level of activity, to keep from losing weight and gaining weight. In order to keep from spiking and to cover it all with insulin, I learned I needed this divided in four, not three meals a day. This means I never take more than 20 grams a meal. It works. Small numbers of carbs can be matched with small numbers of units of insulin.
And warning: Give yourself ALL the insulin you need. Right now, because you have withheld it, you will need MORE insulin to get your body back to normal. Within 2 weeks, you will then need to reduce your insulin to another I:C ratio to lower your affinity for hypoglycemia. Be AWARE! Your body's ability to detect lows may be impaired. Do you have a friend you can confide in? Choose one!
I can cover blueberries in 8 gram amounts with 2 units insulin, no spike, so no back and forth with the blood sugar. I can cover watermelon. But I can't cover apples and oranges. Find out what you can take, what small grams of what food, and build a new food plan from there.

Hi Meg !! I am currently recovering from diabulemia and believe me no matter how much weight you lose by skipping ur medication .. you can never be happy doing it this way, it would be torturing just thinking of the consequences and the fact that you wouldn't even be deserving that loss in weight .. From ur story i can see you are doing just fine :) Just keep it up and whenever u feel like you need help just talk to a close someone and you'll feel much better and save the day !

I'm proud of you .. just remember that you have done a great job , also I wouldn't recommend you to consider urself a diabulemic because ur not .. you're just passing through a stressful phase in ur life .. :)

ohh and finally ... u are going to be beautiful in your prom so don't u worry about that :D

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